There have been many brothers in sports that have played against each other. Peyton and Eli Manning, Ronde and Tiki Barber, and Martín and Bill Gramática are some notable siblings. Getting to play on the same team as your brother is a whole different story. Spencer and Nate Cruise are both on the Varsity football team this season. Nate is only a sophomore and Spencer a senior. Even with only this two grade difference, they surprisingly have never played on the same football team, until now. “We used to play at recess a lot and in the front yard, and occasionally some NCAA ’09 on the X-Box,” Spencer said. Rumor has it though that Nate is the superior gamer when it comes to X-Box. Nate started the season with the sophomore team and played in their first game. During an early varsity practice the next week Coach Downs told Spencer to call Nate and have him down at the field in 15 minutes. “I thought it was a joke. My dad came downstairs when I was sleeping and told me it was true,” said Nate. After a week of practice, Nate’s first varsity game had finally arrived. “My brother had told me it was going to be a lot faster, so I was just trying not to make a mistake,” Nate said. His first game came against East where he had a very strong showing with 4 tackles and a forced fumble. After the victory over East, the team sang the fight song in front of the student section. “At the rah rah rah part Nate’s helmet hit me right above my left eye and I had to get 4 stitches,” Spencer said. “I didn’t even realize anything had happened to me until I got in the locker room.” Fortunately this did not stop Cruise from making the big plays. “I gave him payback when I stole an interception from him during the Mason City game,” Spencer said. These brothers really enjoy getting to play together. Both play on defense as Spencer plays middle linebacker and Nate plays safety. “I have grown up with Nate my whole life so it’s a lot of fun getting to play with him finally, especially on the same side of the ball,” said Spencer. Nate usually goes to Spencer for help at practice when a coach isn’t around. Nate has gotten a lot of help from not only Spencer, but also his older brother Travis. “My brothers have really helped me to understand what to expect at this level. I feel like I was very prepared going into my first couple games and I couldn’t have done it without their help,” Nate said. Most of the time they get along pretty well. Both brothers agreed that they know better than to ever fight with each other. Spencer and Nate have been very successful this season. They hope to take their success into the rest of the season and into the postseason. Seeing as how they get along on and off the field so well, this task will probably come very easy for them. So next time you go to the game you will surely see numbers 7 and 33 making the big plays.